Up to 300 expectant parents who are going to give birth at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital can sign up to borrow an infant car seat for free for a year. PHOTO: KK WOMEN'S AND CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
SINGAPORE – Expectant parents who are going to give birth at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) can sign up to borrow an infant car seat for free for a year, under a new initiative to improve the safety of children on the roads.
Some 300 newborns will benefit in the first year from the Newborn Car Seat Programme, which is supported by the Traffic Police and in partnership with Komoco Motors and Mothercare, said the hospital in a press release on Feb 25.
KKH said it treats about 400 children annually for injuries from traffic accidents. Many of these injuries – especially to the head, spinal cord and internal organs – are more severe when the child is not secured in a car seat.
“Many of the injuries could be prevented with the right precautions. The need for families to have greater awareness about the effectiveness of car seats in saving lives has never been more crucial,” said Dr Ronald Tan, the hospital’s senior consultant in the Department of Emergency Medicine.
A 2017 study involving 1,483 children and adolescents with road traffic injuries found that over half were not in a child car seat at the time of the incident.
Another study, published in 2020, revealed that many parents and caregivers lacked knowledge about proper car seat installation and use, and some doubted the effectiveness of these restraints. Additionally, cost and inconvenience were cited as barriers to compliance, despite the legal requirement for child car restraints.
The law in Singapore requires anyone below the height of 1.35m travelling in a motor vehicle to be secured with an appropriate restraint.
Would-be parents can register their interest for the car seat during their antenatal check-up, or sign up online at for.sg/buckleupbaby. They can then pick up the car seat during their third trimester check-up, and will have access to videos and support on how to properly install and use it.
Parents must return the seat when the baby turns one year old, and will receive a Mothercare discount voucher to buy another age-appropriate car seat. The returned seats will be disinfected before they are loaned out again, said a KKH spokesperson in a media reply.
Dr Tan, who also chairs the KKH Injury Prevention Working Group, added that it is important for parents to switch to age-appropriate car seats as their children grow, to ensure their safety in motor vehicles. This is because different types of car seats are designed for children of different sizes and weights.
Expectant mother Sophia Tan said the new initiative is helpful for first-time parents.
“Not many will be thinking about car seats in the midst of a flurry of things to prepare to welcome a new baby. For me personally, I am in my second trimester. I have not looked into car seats yet and am not sure where to get them,” said the 31-year-old educator, who is not planning to deliver her baby at KKH.
Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Reproduced with permission.
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